This was a week I was really looking forward to on my training plan – the week I got to preview the course I will be running my first 50km race on in September. Before that I had a few other runs to get under my belt.
I took Monday off, and then did an 8km road run on Tuesday. I pushed a faster, but consistent pace on the road and felt good. On Wednesday it was time to push the legs up some hills. I did 5 repeats of a nearby gravel road hill that is approximately 500m with about a 50m rise (as good as it gets in this part of Ontario!). I finished those repeats off with a nice trail loop for a total of 10km. Thursday was another quick 6km on the roads at a faster pace. After a rest day on Friday I was ready to go on the Run for the Toad course Saturday morning.
I was amazed at the number of runners out for this organized training day. I posted more about it here if you’re interested. Being out on the course made me even more excited for this race. It also opened my eyes to the amount of climbing that the organizers have been able to squeeze out of what I assumed was a flat park! I did two of the winding 12.5 km laps and felt good in spite of the 31 climbs. I tried to run what I was hoping would be goal pace, and I think it is achievable. I am aiming for a sub 5min/km pace, which would put me around 4hrs10min for the distance. I want to push myself, but also run conservative enough to enjoy the race and learn from it (and want to come back for more!)
Super winding 12.5km loop!
On Sunday the whole family participated in a 5km run/walk event for a local charity that ended up being a run of just under 4km due to some construction on the route. I pushed the kids in a stroller and paced my wife. We had a good time, but it left 16km on my training schedule. I headed back out in the afternoon and finished it off on the trails.
I am happy to be feeling like my legs are getting stronger, and mentally the longer distances are much more manageable. Hopefully this trend continues. I also had some confirmation that I am doing the rights things after an email from Ryne Melcher, a runner on the Montrail Team, who wrote the generic Run for the Toad training plan that I have adapted for my use. It was great of him to take the time to answer a couple questions from me, a newbie/wannabe ultrarunner who is trying to get a handle on how to do this! Thanks Ryne!
Next week’s schedule has a couple of short races to contend with and ends with a 30km run (a distance I have only done once before in my life!). I have my biweekly trail race on Wednesday night, and my wife and I are signed up for a 5km road race on Saturday. Our kids are signed up for a 600m race at that event which should be fun! (They’re 1 and 3 so its their first “race”!)
- Monday: 6km road run
- Tuesday: Rest
- Wednesday: 6km trail race
- Thursday: Rest
- Friday: 20km (probably on the road)
- Saturday: 5km road race
- Sunday: 30km trail run (yikes!)
As always, thanks for reading. I am learning a lot about this as I go and am thankful for all the support and help I have received.
runbikerace 
enjoy seeing your plan for each week Kent.
Wow! Are you hoping to do 4:10 for your first 50km? That’s fast. I hope one day to do a sub 5:45 50km but I have a lot of training to do before that is a realistic event goal. I just did my first 50km yesterday in 6:48. Mind you, I haven’t trained properly for 50km either – I have only run 517km since 1 January including the 50km yesterday. When I read your blog I get inspired to slowly increase my mileage … that is starting tomorrow (really, not the tomorrow that never comes 😉 ).
How many metres climbing per loop at the run for the toad.
I checked my Garmin data from the day I ran the course in July and it showed 287m gain for 2 laps so around 140-150 m. would be a good estimate. Nothing really long, just lots of short hills.